Brew #1 Whoodforde's Wherry 'Real Ale Kit'

[AdamJohn]

Today I finally got round to starting my first attempt at home brewing.

I think everything went okay. I was especially worried about sterilizing everything so I hope that was done correctly.

I got a o.g. reading of 1034, when put into the sites handy calculator to take into consideration the temperature (25c) that makes it 1035. I think I read it correctly, although it looks slightly lower than what some others have obtained. Pitched the yeast at that temp and now it is in a corner of the house, sealed with air lock in.

I am off away now for the week but I was thinking of not looking in/ checking gravity for 2 weeks (as per one of the 'how to' guides). I just hope that none of my housemates decide to have a peek!

To say I am a bit excited as to how this will turn out is a bit of an understatement. :)

 

[Mudds]

Sounds good, just kegged/ bottled my wherry after a week as it was steady at 1010. Not going to touch this now for a month...

 

[dennisking]

Sounds good, just kegged/ bottled my wherry after a week as it was steady at 1010. Not going to touch this now for a month...

Bet you do

 

[Mudds]

Still not touched it yet... :thumb:

 

[Rwilts]

Just picked up another werry myself which will be going on tomorrow :

Don't be surprised it it sticks at 1020 my previous one did and plenty of others have had the same experience. Have a read of the how to on stuck fermentations in preparation. :

 

[AdamJohn]

Hi guys,

The Wherry is now bottled as of the 7/11/13. Which meant it spent 18 days in the FV. However the house here is constantly cool too cold due to lack of heating with just a wood burner for warmth. This does make me worry about brews over winter... may have to invest in a belt heater... Anyway, the FG was 1.010 which I tested on the 4/11/13. I must admit I forgot to test it again prior to bottling, but as it was in the expected range I hope that doesn't matter.

The bottling process wasn't too much of a hassle. Due to some 'How To's' and discussions I read on this forum I purchased a second FV and added a bottling tap/tube. Bottle tree, Bottle scoosher device and some starsan - Added 1/4 oz to 5 gallons of Tesco bottled water. I think overall out of the 40 pints I probably lost about 4 or 5 due to the last liquid above the sediment, what I couldn't get out of the bottling bucket and trial jars.

I had a taste at this point and It wasn't very nice! Flat and beery but with some hints as to what it is (hopefully) going to taste like given a little time to mature.

I have put a thermometer with the bottles and they are being kept at about 12 - 15c indoors, do you feel this is going to be warm enough to secondary fermentation? I was thinking maybe... and then maybe not worth taking them outdoors to the cold, just leave them for longer at this temp. The equations on this site reckon it will be ready to drink on the 10/12/13, but I have a friend coming to stay on the 29th of Nov, so a few may be taken a bit early!

 

[Redcar]

Carbonation will take longer in that temperature range, but you haven't mentioned priming the beer (either in the bottles or batch). Did you add priming sugar before you bottled your beer?

 

[morethanworts]

Carbonation will take longer in that temperature range, but you haven't mentioned priming the beer (either in the bottles or batch). Did you add priming sugar before you bottled your beer?

...Yes, would be reassuring to hear you have primed them!

As is regularly and correctly reported on here, Wherry is a very slow clearer: expect 5 or 6 weeks in bottles before it looks clear. It's not a bad guide on how long to leave them anyway.

You could do with them a bit warmer for two weeks, really (more like 18-21C) then cold for at least another couple.

 

[AdamJohn]

Ha sorry, yes forgot to mention the priming! I added 80g of demerera sugar to some water and simmered for about 5 minutes until all the sugar had dissolved. Added this into the bottle bucket and the siphoned on top of that.

Trying to think of ways I can increase the temp around the bottles. Maybe drape a blanket over them. hmmm

 

[Jeff Brewjubbly]

The Wherry is a fantastic kit - it can go through some ugly smells and tastes on the way to being ready though :)

 

[mogsie]

ive decided to give this woodfords wherry a try, wilko's have it on sale, question to all those that have tried this one, taste wise would i be better using sugar or malt extract ? thanks

 

[PD]

the original poster...
Your starting gravity was quite low but as its a kit I would think that its due to not reading hydrometer correctly or more likely not stirring the ingredients well enough. The malt extracts are very thick and syruppy and do take a fair amount of mixing to distribute the sugars.....
Advice I was given was to stir briskly until your arm felt it was dropping off. Then swop arms and repeat !

 

[morethanworts]

briskly until your arm felt it was dropping off. Then swop arms and repeat !

Wise words PD. I will try to apply this wherever I can.

 

[AdamJohn]

the original poster...
Your starting gravity was quite low but as its a kit I would think that its due to not reading hydrometer correctly or more likely not stirring the ingredients well enough. The malt extracts are very thick and syruppy and do take a fair amount of mixing to distribute the sugars.....
Advice I was given was to stir briskly until your arm felt it was dropping off. Then swop arms and repeat !

Thanks, I think it was probably a bit of both! I certainly didn't stir that hard... I'll try and make more of an effort in the future :)

Bottles have now been moved into the airing cupboard in an effort to try and keep them warm for a couple of weeks.